* Chinese wages see double-digit growth

Xinhua: “The average annual salaries of urban Chinese workers at non-private companies hit 42,452 yuan (6,717 U.S. dollars) in 2011, up 14.3 percent year on year, statistical authorities announced Tuesday. After taking inflation into account, wages actually grew by about 8.5 percent, according to data from the National Bureau of Statistics NBS.

Meanwhile, the annual salaries of workers at privately-owned businesses in urban regions grew 12.3 percent after deducting factor of inflation to 24,556 yuan in 2011, NBS data showed. The data was based on a survey of 1.48 million non-privately owned organizations and 620,000 private companies, the NBS said.

Wages for workers in the nation’s more developed eastern regions and major cities were the highest, while the central provinces of Anhui, Henan and Hubei ranked lowest, according to the NBS. The finance, telecommunication, computer service and software development sectors offered the highest salaries, the NBS said.”

Chinese wages have risen higher than GDP consistently for over five years. The accusation of low-wages beating foreign competition is becoming less true each year. So much so that reverse outsourcing is beginning to happen for some companies and countries.